FEMA Specialists Available at Local Recovery Centers to Help Those Impacted by the Kona Lows Apply for Assistance

HONOLULU - Residents who were impacted by the March 10-24, 2026 Kona Low flooding in the City and County of Honolulu, and Hawai'i and Maui counties can now get in-person help applying for FEMA assistance at local recovery centers across the three counties.

FEMA Individual Assistance specialists are deploying to existing local recovery centers operated by the state, counties, and some non-profits. At these locations, FEMA personnel will work alongside local staff to support community recovery.

FEMA Help at Local Recovery Centers

At participating local recovery centers, FEMA staff can help residents:

• Apply for FEMA Individual Assistance
• Update an existing application (for example, after an insurance settlement)
• Check the status of a FEMA application
• Get answers to questions about letters, documentation, and next steps in the process

FEMA personnel can also provide information on:

• What FEMA assistance may cover
• How FEMA and insurance work together
• How to document damage and prepare for possible inspections

How to Find a Local Recovery Center

Impacted community members can find the locations, hours and other details for local recovery centers by visiting ready.hawaii.gov, or by following local county emergency management updates.

Residents should bring:

• Photo identification
• The address of their damaged primary residence
• Insurance information and any claim documents
• Basic details about their damage and losses

If documents are missing, FEMA specialists can still help survivors start or update an application.

Other Ways to Apply for FEMA Assistance

Visiting a local recovery center is not required to apply for FEMA assistance. The fastest and easiest way to apply for FEMA assistance is by:

• Visiting DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Calling FEMA's toll-free hotline at 1-800-621-3362 (1-800-621-FEMA).
  • If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, provide FEMA the number for that service.
• Using the FEMA app on a smartphone or tablet.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be onsite offering low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, businesses of any size and nonprofits. Like FEMA, SBA cannot duplicate benefits for losses covered by insurance. Businesses and residents can apply online at sba.gov/disaster.

For questions and assistance in completing an SBA application, call 800-659-2955 or email [email protected]. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Residents are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, document their damage, and take advantage of in-person support at local recovery centers if they need help with the FEMA application process.

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FEMA's mission is helping people before, during and after disasters.

Follow FEMA Region 9 on X @FEMARegion9. You can also follow FEMA online, on X @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol, on FEMA's Facebook page or Espanol page, on Truth Social and FEMA's YouTube account.

For preparedness information, follow the Ready Campaign on X at @Readygov, on Instagram @Readygov or on the Ready Facebook page.